Her Power
by jakelsx
Summary: .troyella. Her power over me is spectacular
1. Chapter 1

** Her Power**

There had been rules. There were always rules. Troy Bolton hated rules.

Her mom and his parents went over them with him. They spent a whole day, explaining and answering questions. You can't go into her room unless she's sleeping, always stay five feet away from her, don't see her without her having any restraints; he was sick of it all. He scowled at them. He glared at them.

Why couldn't he, Troy Bolton see Gabriella Montez? How could he not see the girl who valiantly stole his heart and kept it safe for the last year?

One accident had to change their whole relationship? Was that it? Was it because she had a mental disorder now and had little control over her body?

One fucking accident? He had been suffering for a whole two weeks not seeing her. He didn't mind talking about it at all because he didn't want to believe it himself. Ms. Montez and his parents briefed him. They made sure they were gentle with it too; Troy could tell.

It angered him. Not only did it anger him, it disappointed him. How could they think that he should be kept away from her. She wasn't a monster.

"She can't talk correctly," Ms. Montez told him with the deadest stare anyone could get. "She can't walk or intentionally hold on to _anything_." A fought back sob followed. "She understands everything around her. There are a couple of black-outs in her memory. Thankfully most of it's there." Ms. Montez was openly crying now. "She…Sh-She can scream, yell, groan… she can't talk. She has spontaneous seizures. They're harmless to her when taken care of but… that's why we don't want you near her. We don't want you to get hurt." She clutched the arm of the chair as if to relinquish all of the pain and denial in the room. Ms. Montez looked at Troy and for a second, he saw Gabriella's eyes.

One second.

He was fucking eighteen years old. Eighteen and a half. She had just turned eighteen. Hardly anyone finds love when they're that young. But they did.

Her power over him was overwhelming.

It had been another two weeks since the briefing. Ms. Montez let him look through the window when she was eating sometimes. He would admire her beauty and wish he could break through the window and go hug her and kiss her, tell her about what had happened the last couple of weeks. They'd just graduated high school too. Both of them got accepted at UCLA. He had given up basketball. Why basketball when he had Gabriella?

No physical contact whatsoever in a month. His body was aching for hers.

He made deliveries to her house every weekday. He was working part-time at this department store and Ms. Montez frankly orders a lot of stuff from there. It was a Wednesday.

Troy was jogging over to the Montez residence again, wondering what Gabriella was doing at the moment. He knew that she mostly laid in bed all day. She could listen to the radio when she was bored but had to have someone turn it on and off for her.

He knocked on the door.

He knocked again.

"Ms. Montez?" he called. The door was unlocked so he just headed in, assuming that she was inside. When he reached the kitchen, he dropped off the poorly handled cardboard box on the table. A post-it caught his eye.

_Troy-_

_I got a new job yesterday. I won't be home from noon to six from now on but you can drop off the packages on the kitchen table._

_-Ms. Montez_

Troy sighed and started on his way back home.

Then he heard it.

She was screaming.

He panicked.

She sounded like she was in pain.

His first instinct was to run upstairs and go see what was wrong.

So that's what he did.

With his jeans making dragging noises on the floor, he rushed up the stairs and into her room.

Okay, broke two rules already.

He caught sight of her for the first time in a month. She was on the bed, jerking with hands flying all over the place. It was another seizure wave.

Oh, god, what had Ms. Montez done when these things happened? She explained it to him before. He asked her.

She said that she put something in Gabriella's hands or else she would clench her fist so hard that her nails would pierce her own skin. Gabriella had no control over any of this. She was just a host, her condition taking over.

Gabriella was yelling. Troy made his way over in the dark room. Only the clouded sun provided any sort of light but he could see her. He could see his love.

At first his heart broke. There was no doubt she was screaming in desperation, pain. She didn't want this. She still had her bookworm conscious in there. That conscious knew that this wasn't good. He stood panicking near the bed. He saw her eyes. They were bloodshot and teary. Her messy raven curls were flying all over the place. The sheets were rumpled and no longer pinned to the mattress.

Without thinking, he grabbed her hands. He wanted to touch her again. Mistake, Bolton.

She clung onto his hands and this time they screamed together. These "seizures" could provide such great power. Her hands clenched his snapping his in her trap. Her nails were slowly digging in to his skin. He fell over onto her in pure pain. He unintentionally stopped her jerking. He shut his eyes, trying to stop yelling. She kept at it, thrashing her head from side to side. He tried to look in her eyes, tried to find some remains of the gentle, sweet teenage girl he remembered.

No, the disease had taken over.

She was loosening her grip; the wave was passing. His hands were bleeding and his ears were numbing.

She was screaming so loud; he had never heard her do that before. It was almost inhuman.

When she had finally stopped, he wearily took his hands from hers, not wanting to move them. He rolled off to the side of the bed, not wanting to look at his hands. She was just breathing hard and staring at the ceiling.

He sat up, looking at her first. She seemed to not notice him; her gaze was locked on the dull ceiling. They were both panting, trying to get over the pain.

Then he took a look at the damage. There were deep nail marks on both of his hands and they were bleeding. His left hand was probably broken. They were both bruised badly. Her power was greater than he imagined. He sighed and turned to her again, scooting closer to her until his knees were touching her arm. "Geez, Gabriella. Who says you can't cut your own steak?" he sighed.

It was so sudden. Her eyes darted to his. He made out what could've been a fraction of a smile on her face.

_"She understands everything around her." _Ms. Montez' words flashed through his brain. He looked at her and gulped.

She mustered all of her strength and soon enough, a trembling hand was lifting from her body. She looked into his eyes and he felt it. He felt the same intensity he did a month ago, the same intensity a year ago. Her eyes were flashing with all these different emotions. She didn't know what to feel. But what did it matter? No one could understand her now. Years of memorizing complex SAT words, rummaging through college English books to discover new ways of grammar. It was all gone.

No one would even come up and talk to her. She wasn't retarded or anything. She could understand, process everything around her. Her mother only came up to see her when she had those waves. After they passed she would say something like, "What are we going to do with you?" or "It's so sad where you are now". It broke her heart. But now, Troy Bolton, golden boy of East High, her loyal boyfriend and best friend was up here. Not only that, he suffered for her. She loved him. He loved her. They'd told each other that for six months and they meant it.

Now, he was here, talking to her. Someone was actually in her room talking to her.

And it was Troy Bolton.

Her hand slowly made it to his face. He winced so that she couldn't see. These were the same hands that just crushed his fingers. He shut his eyes tight, hoping that her hand would fall.

He thought his prayers had gone to God, for he felt nothing on his face. When he opened his eyes again, he saw her hand still in mid air. Her eyes were fighting the tiredness of her body. Her hand was stuck trembling halfway between her and Troy.

He decided to help. All feelings of pain and worry had disappeared only to be replaced by compassion. He took her hand gently, struggling to keep away the pain. He led her hand to his face, letting her touch it. Her thumb was moving. She was trying so hard. She was trying so hard to focus on him, to keep her hand there.

He felt her skin on his. It was a little rougher but all at the same time just like her remembered. He would die for these moments.

She felt his skin again. Oh, she had not seen him in a month and she was getting weaker even faster. But to feel him again, she felt a new wave of emotion. It wasn't the pain, the loneliness, or the sadness she had felt for the past four weeks but it was the recreated love. She tried to smile; she tried to give some sort of sign that she was happy now that he was here.

But she couldn't. Her energy drained, her hand fell in his lap. Her bottom lip started to tremble. Her eyes were suddenly feeling damp. She was trying to cry.

But she couldn't. No energy.

He took her hand and again and kissed it. "Hey, Gabi," he finally said. His voice was so quiet as if not to break her fragile figure.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Her lips were trying to move. She was trying so hard.

"T-Troy," she finally let out in a voice just above a whisper. His eyes widened and his grip tightened. Her voice was somehow different. It was definitely forced; it cracked.

But he heard it. He heard it well.

She started panting right afterwards. It was a shortage of breath. That had just knocked all the energy left in her. But he still felt something. He felt her give his hand the smallest squeeze ever. Then right after, it fell limp.

He was speechless. She couldn't talk but she had just said his name. He heard it clearly. Now his ears hurt. He was trying to find that melodious sound once again. He was trying to search for it in the room. No use. She was asleep now.

He gently placed her hand back by her side and touched her face. It hadn't changed. None of it had changed. He gingerly traced her cheekbone; his hot breath blew against her nose.

He wouldn't let this happen to her. He was going to make it better. This was Gabriella Montez, the love of his life. She wasn't going to go like this.

After he was sure that she was asleep, he quietly walked back downstairs and to his house. He made sure that his parents couldn't see his hands and when he showed up for dinner, he wore gloves, stating that it was cold.

He was going back tomorrow. He had to.

Her power over him was back and stronger than ever.

* * *

**AN://** Wow, talk about angst. Well, I'm working on a new story since With Nothing is kind of at an awkward halt. The new story is already six chapters done so I hope to post that up soon. Thanks for the feedback on The Season. It really means a lot.

This is going to be a side thing...maybe a three-shot or five-shot.

Kudos if you read the this entire author's note. feedback is appriciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

The next day, Troy made his delivery to Ms. Montez. He had a lot more on his mind this time.

His head was swimming with thoughts. He couldn't analyze them all at once; it was impossible. He didn't think if there was some scientific process that went wrong which allowed her to say his name. He just thought he was hallucinating. He went to go check on her again, though. He ran up the stairs just like yesterday and hoped that she was awake.

When he reached he room, he confidently walked in. His hands reminded him of the day before but he chose to ignore it. The blood had already rusted and his broken hand was healing fast enough. "Gabriella?" he asked quietly. There was no response. She wasn't asleep, was she?

He walked to her bed and saw that her eyes were open, but barely. Truth be told, she had been awake for the last couple of hours. No harm in thinking, right? Her old brain processed a multitude of thoughts. She knew that she had talked yesterday. She knew that Troy was there. Most importantly, she knew that she had broken his hand. "Gabriella?" he asked again. She moved her head tiredly to face him. He climbed into the bed with her and her eyes followed his movements. "So, how are you doing today?"

She tried to smile. She tried to say "boring" or "bad" but nothing came out. Only the faintest groan slipped from her lips.

"Oh, well, that's too bad," he sighed. Did he somehow understand her? He slowly wrapped his arm around her waist. "I'm going to keep you company if that's alright. I'm tired anyway." He was acting like everything was normal? At a time like this?

She was lying on her back, but she was trying to turn to face him. She couldn't.

Meanwhile, his eyes caught a bright color in the dull room. He reached for it and opened it. It was a book. "Hey, were you reading this?" he asked her. She saw it. She wanted to nod her head and scream, "Yes, you idiot. You bought me that book for my birthday!" Another groan came out.

"I'll take that as a yes." He flipped to the page that was bookmarked. "'He was worried, but mostly he was satisfied. The kingdom had been safely restored to its peaceful self.'" He wrinkled his brow. "A fantasy book? Well, might as well finish, huh?" He kept on reading and she kept on listening.

She couldn't believe what he was doing. He took the time and the effort to actually read to her? She was just a hair away from nothing now. Even her own mother didn't talk to her. Here Troy Bolton was, entertaining her. _Reading_ to her at that. He knew that she loved that.

A couple of hours past and it was five thirty. Ms. Montez would be home shortly. "Man, Gabi. We were just getting to the good part too," he sighed sarcastically. She knew that he didn't like reading himself, much less reading to anyone else. She appreciated it. She had this warm feeling inside of her. It soon vanished.

He first heard her whimper. It couldn't even be called a sound. It was more of a plea. "Troy," she said. Her voice was more confident, fuller. He immediately sat up and hovered above her.

"Gabriella," he returned. She started shaking again. He knew it was another wave.

He figured not to use his hands this time. He searched the room frantically with his eyes, not wanting to leave Gabriella. He couldn't find anything. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath.

His eyes returned to hers. They were begging him to make it stop. She was jerking frantically now.

He took off his shirt and made her hold it, hoping that it would be enough. Then his hands found their way to her face.

He took her head in his hands and leaned close to her. "Listen to me, Gabriella. Just listen to my voice," he spoke as calmly as he could. "Don't worry; it's going to be okay." She clenched her eyes shut as the seizure took over. She screamed. "Shh… shh"

She screamed again, an agonizing scream. "It's going to be okay." He didn't want to start crying. She was in pain. She was in excruciating pain and he couldn't help at all.

Her eyes darted from one facial feature to another, trying to find some relief. When they landed in two pools of blue, she relaxed a little. His voice, where was it coming from? She felt his hands on the sides of her face. She couldn't take it. She screamed again. It wasn't actually painful to her body, but more painful mentally. She fought it hard every time. She fought it so hard it hurt. Her attempts were futile but it seemed to make her feel better. It made her feel that she could fight something.

It was all worthless it seemed. She grasped onto his shirt as he tried to calm her down. She tried to nod and give a sign that she was listening to him. She couldn't.

Another scream.

And another.

Then it was done. She immediately let go of his shirt and started panting. Troy sighed in relief but kept his position. "Gabriella?" he asked calmly. "Gabriella."

"Troy," she managed. He smiled at the sound of her voice. His hand caressed her cheek.

"You're so strong, you know that?" She was starting to catch her breath. "It's okay." He looked at the clock again.

"Troy," she said again with a little more strength.

"Sorry, Gabi," he whispered. "I wasn't supposed to be here this long. I need to go." He leaned down and kissed her. He could feel her lips trembling, trying to kiss back. When he pulled away he smiled. "Don't strain yourself. I love you." With that, he carefully got up, removed the wrinkled and torn shirt from her hands and quietly started to walk out.

"I-I lo-…ve y-you," she said. He stopped in his tracks and turned his head only to find her sound asleep.

"Night, Gabriella," he whispered.

The next day, Troy went to the Montez residence again and again read to her. She didn't have a wave luckily but she did saw his name again. He talked to her and actually let her answer every time with "Troy". She enjoyed it. He enjoyed it. It was moving along.

So it was the weekend now and he couldn't go see her. He did go out to dinner with Ms. Montez and his parents though. They went to some fancy restaurant and he actually had to wear a suit. "So, Troy… which college are you attending?" Ms. Montez asked him. He wanted to say, "The same one Gabriella is going to" but he didn't. Gabriella had gotten her college applications and had gotten in to most of them. She was smart; who wouldn't want her in their school?

"I don't know," he said instead. His parents gave him curious looks but kept eating. There was a question on his mind though. He knew the answer but the thing he needed to know if Ms. Montez knew too. "Umm… is Gabriella doing any better?" Ms. Montez sighed.

"Unfortunately no," she said sadly. Troy nearly choked on his food. No? Did his name and "I love you" not count as talking? She had also started to kiss back. Not only that, when he held her hand, she softly grasped back. Did that all not count?

"Really?" he croaked. "No improvement?" He looked up at her, eyes sparkling with tears. Ms. Montez, however, had no tears or any type of sadness in her voice. The truth was, she had accepted the fact that Gabriella, her only daughter, would somehow die. She thought that it was just a matter of time until one of these waves would completely take her over and consume her. That's why she wasn't at home right now. That's why she didn't talk to her daughter. Gabriella was dead to her already.

"No," she replied with a stern face. Then she gave a sympathetic smile. Troy looked back down at his food.

For a moment, he felt numb. He mumbled something incoherent and lost all feeling. Her own mother not believing in her. How sad did that feel?

He hoped that he could somehow make it better.

That Monday, he rushed to her house. He tossed the package on the table and ran up the stairs. Her seizures were becoming less frequent. He had figured that out after dinner. Gradually, they would go away, right? "Gabriella?" he quickly called. He entered the room and this time her lamp was on. She was wrapped in the blankets and looked so peaceful. He didn't want to disturb her. He gave a smile and started toward the bed. "Hey, sweetie," he whispered.

She was awake. She could've heard the package slam on the cold granite table any day. "Troy," she said. She tried to smile.

The corners of her mouth turned.

Her cheeks lifted.

She was smiling for the first time in a month.

Troy smiled back and leaned down so that he was looking Gabriella in the eye. "How're you doing today?" he asked. He planted a little kiss on her nose and gently took her hand.

"I love you," she said. It seemed like she was practicing the last couple of days.

"I love you too," he replied with a smile. He hopped onto the bed with her and she turned to face him, just like any other day. "You know your mom is starting to lose hope about you." They were face to face, eye to eye. He placed a hand on her waist, holding her close. "You need to show them you're better, Gabi."

She realized what he was trying to say. She got it. She knew that her mother lost hope that she was going to get any better. She figured it out when her mother stopped visiting her. He didn't want anyone to think that about her. "It can't be just me. They need to know," he said, repeating his point.

She just closed her eyes and took in his presence.

He looked at her.

Even at her most peaceful, harmless state, her power over him was taking over.

* * *

**AN:// **Well, that sucked. I really didn't like this part. But... I posted it anyway because I actually got reviews this time. This story is doing just as well as the others and it's only been out for a day. I appriciate people talking about the storyline. That I have to thank readers.

THANK YOU READERS!

Okay, I might post the new story but I'm stuck on that one too... so I might not. I don't want to have so many projects out at once. But that's up to you to decide.

review?


	3. Chapter 3

**Pt. 3**

The next week, Ms. Montez invited Troy over.

Troy did not like the sound of this.

She also wanted his father to come. Jack Bolton? He usually wasn't invited to anything but an anger management class.

So, they went. Jack put a helpful hand on his son's shoulder when they entered. "Troy," Ms. Montez said with a smile. "Jack, come in… please have a seat." Troy and his father took a seat on one of the wooden chairs that surrounded the kitchen table. Ms. Montez sat beside Troy, fiddling with her fingers. A Gabriella habit if we must. "Troy… I have something to tell you. It's about Gabriella."

He immediately looked up. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"She hasn't been alright for the last month and a half, Troy," she sighed. Troy grimaced and leaned back.

"Then what is it?"

"Troy, tone," Jack instantly said. Troy glared at his father.

"It's alright, Jack," Ms. Montez said. "Troy needs to know anyway."

"Troy needs to know what?" Troy's voice was rising.

"Troy…" Ms. Montez' smile faltered for a split second, thinking about what she was about to say. "I'm going to send Gabriella to a psyche ward." Troy froze for a second. Those words… psyche ward? She was just playing with him, right? He gave an unbelieving smile.

"You're not serious." He smiled to himself in denial.

Then he looked at Ms. Montez' face again.

His smile quickly vanished, leaving a trace of a frown instead. "You can't," he said, voice cracking.

"The ward is in Rhode Island, just a couple minutes from the beach. It's clean and one of the best. She'll enjoy it." Ms. Montez' voice was also cracking.

"Wh-What? Why? _Why_ do you need to send her _there_?" Tears were forming; he was losing it.

"I want her to get better as much as you do, Troy," she said quietly.

"No, she _IS_ better!"

"Troy, tone," Jack piped in.

"I'm afraid she's not Troy," Ms. Montez said.

"WHAT? Are you fucking _kidding_ me? Has she had any seizure waves lately? Huh?" Ms. Montez gulped. "She can talk too!" Ms. Montez had to laugh at this. Troy just found it as disrespect to him and Gabriella.

"She might've had a decrease in waves but talking? I'm afraid she won't be able too." Troy's eyes were turning red. His eyes were tearing. "She's being shipped off the day after tomorrow." Shipped off?

Troy was left staring at the bleak white table, contemplating whether or not he should just die right there.

Jack Bolton finally stood up. "Troy, I think it's time to-"

"NO!" Troy screamed. His eyes were outlined with red and his fists were shaking. He got out of the chair and started upstairs. Ms. Montez quickly followed.

"Troy Bolton, you are not allowed in there!" she yelled after him.

"Troy, GET DOWN HERE!" his father screamed. They chased after the boy together, determined to stop him.

Troy was numb.

Everything around him was blurred. He saw one thing and one thing only clearly: her room's door.

He dragged himself to it, carefully entering. His eyes were tear-stained and he couldn't see straight.

Gabriella heard him come in. Not only that, she heard his cries. She turned to him, suddenly finding a new feeling of energy. When she saw his eyes now crusted with sadness, anger, and everything in between, her breath hitched.

He started making his way to her bed, slightly smiling.

She wasn't going to leave, she couldn't.

Then Jack Bolton stormed through the door. He jumped Troy from behind, locking his hands.

Troy's smile faded and so did Gabriella's.

Ms. Montez followed doing her best to help.

Troy struggled against his father. "No, stop!" he shouted.

"Troy, calm down-"

"STOP! FUCKING GET _OFF OF ME_!" He swung his body around, hoping to lose his father's grip.

"Troy, she's practically gone. There's no use," Ms. Montez' words were hollow. Troy looked at her, eyes stinging with the tears that ran down his face.

"She. Is. Not. GONE!" he screamed. He turned to Gabriella. "Gabriella, talk to me," he said in a pleading voice. She gave him a stare but that was it.

Jack had gotten a hold of Troy again and started dragging him out of the room. "NO!" He was crying for her voice. "Gabriella, it's me." He staggered down to the floor. "Talk."

Ms. Montez gave a pitiful stare to Troy. So naïve.

"Troy," a new voice whispered. Troy's eyes darted to the her.

"Troy," Gabriella said again, louder. Ms. Montez looked at her daughter quizzically. "Troy." Gabriella was talking with all her heart now. Troy wanted her to talk. He sounded desperate. He sounded like he was crying.

She talked.

Gabriella sat up, earning a small gasp from her mother. Troy was on his knees near the door, crying. This time, however it was for joy.

Her heart ached. She slowly got off of the bed. She stood up and staggered forward.

Her head hurt.

Her heart hurt.

Her legs hurt.

So he stood up too.

He stood up and before she could fall from exhaustion, engulfed her in his arms. She fell against him, keeping a weak hold of him around his waist. He cried into her hair. He couldn't stop.

Jack Bolton stared wide-eyed at the sight before him.

Ms. Montez placed a hand on her forehead.

"I love you," Gabriella said confidently. Troy chuckled, tightening his grip around her.

"I love you too," he replied. After a while of holding each other, he pulled away, still keeping a strong grip on her waist. He turned to the parents. "She. Is. Not. Gone," he repeated, his eyes shockingly clear.

"She's not gone," Ms. Montez repeated. Ms. Montez looked at Gabriella. "Hi, honey." A smile formed on Ms. Montez' lips. The first one that Gabriella had seen in a month and a half.

"Mom," she whispered. Ms. Montez almost broke down in sobs.

Troy smiled down at Gabriella, who was examining her mother break down. "Hey, Gabriella," he whispered. Gabriella slowly turned her head. "Have I already told you that I love you?"

Gabriella smiled and weakly placed a hand on his cheek. "I love you, Troy," she said, face centimeters from his.

"I love you too," he replied again. He pressed his lips on hers. She fought with all her might. She was kissing back.

Both her arms wrapped around his neck. He left his hand on her waist pulling her closer and keeping her balanced.

When he pulled away, he laid his forehead on hers.

They felt each other breath.

They felt each other live.

He felt her power again, bringing him to a place of tenderness, of ever lasting hope, and of never ending compassion.

* * *

**AN:// **ahem...excuse me if that was too corny. I'm about exploding with corniness.

One thing I have to say about this is that I have no idea if Gabriella's case is real. It probably isn't. So..yeah.

I might do a small epilouge to this. I might, if you guys want. Check out my new story that's coming out: Hurry, I'm Falling. That'd be nice.

reviews would be nice too. :)


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

FOUR MONTHS LATER-

"Carefully now," the doctor said. He held her arm steadily. "If you feel any strain, tell me." Troy coughed. "Or us."

The doctor slowly let go.

She balanced herself.

Right.

Left.

Right.

Oh, jeez, stumble. "Careful," Troy quickly said. He didn't have school that day, so he paid a visit to his girlfriend. It's not like he didn't pay a visit everyday anyway though. He was going to Stanford for management engineering. He lived in a quiet little place right by University Avenue, near Willow Oaks Park. Guess what?

Gabriella also lived there with him. She also went to Stanford.

Left.

Right.

"Okay," the doctor said with a smile. "We got it. Good job, Ms. Montez." He wrote something down on his clipboard and set it aside. "You can still use the wheelchair if you're uncomfortable. Try to practice as much as possible. I'm sure you're friend over here will make sure of it." He looked over at Troy, who was beaming. "Then, that's it. Any complications at all, make an appointment." Then the doctor left the room.

"You did it, Gabriella!" Troy cried, wrapping his arms around her. She unsteadily melted in to him, relaxing at his touch.

"Thanks, Troy," she sighed. Her voice had been spared in the recovery process. Troy luckily had been blessed to hear more and more of it the last few months.

"What are you kidding?" he said, pulling away. He cupped her face in his hands. "We are going home and celebrating." He put an arm around her waist, and led her to the door. "I suspect we're walking to the car?"

"You suspect correctly," she smiled.

They clutched each other, walking through the hospital. Hallways filled with sick and dying just stared in envy at the happy twosome. Felicity radiated from them as the exited, leaving an overjoyed aura behind.

People would stare in jealousy of them. They were so happy.

Psh, forget happy. They were _in love._

**"**Okay, you've got finals next week," Gabriella said to him in the car. She was flipping through their schedule carefully, occasionally pushing her reading glasses up the bridge of her nose. "You need to study for that; remember last time?"

"Gabriella, relax," he replied, keeping his eye on the road. "You've just completed your recovery process. Can't we forget about school for a second?"

She sighed.

"Well, we have lunch with the Gordon's today…"

"Forget it."

"You have a dentist's appointment in the afternoon…"

"I'll reschedule it."

"Then-"

"Gabriella," he interrupted. "How about we wipe the calendar today, alright? We replace it with an all-day HBO marathon and then I make dinner."

Gabriella leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms.

She looked at him.

She traced his smiling lips with her eyes.

His glinting eyes made her weak.

"So what do you say?" he asked.

"I say…" she smiled. "I say you suck at cooking and _I_ make dinner."

"No way, _we_ make dinner." He grinned widely, enjoying the moment.

"Fine but if I get food poisoning it's on your head."

"Oo, I'm so scared."

"You should be. I can get pretty violent."

"I know. Remember that night after the reception-"

"Aside from that," Gabriella quickly interrupted, blushing.

Troy chuckled. Her power made him feel all bubbly inside.

----

"We didn't finish!" Gabriella yelled after him. He rushed to the living room, three plates in his hand. "And don't drop those!"

"I'm not," he called back. He slid the plates down his arm and onto their dining table. He had another surprise for her. "Did you finish the soup?"

"Yeah, let me bring it over-"

"NO!" He quickly recovered and groaned. "I mean… let me bring it. Don't strain yourself." He hurried to the kitchen, seeing her eyeing him suspiciously.

"What's going on, Troy?"

"Nothing! Nothing's going on! What makes you think that?" He placed a wry smile on his face and ran back into the kitchen with the bottles of wine and their glasses.

"Wait, Troy! Wine?" She stirred the soup a little more and started to ladle it into the serving bowl.

"This is a special occasion!"

The sun was setting and the color in the sky was indescribable. It let off a unique light orange tint to everything. The green trees seemed to take a more artistic feel at this time. It was perfect. He carefully set down the wine glasses and put the bottle down. He looked at the small wooden table and felt the even smaller velvet box in the pocket of his sweats.

He rushed back into the kitchen and saw her in her sweats as well with her hair messily tied up into a ponytail. "What?" she asked. Geez, he was staring again.

"Nothing," he leaned against the door. "Anything else you need me to bring over there?"

"The food?" He nodded.

"Of course." He took the plates of the spaghetti and salad to the table. Then he went back and took the soup. "Alright; all done!"

She came over to the table and Troy pulled out a seat for her. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"My pleasure, _dear_," he replied and then took a seat across from her.

"What should this wonderful dinner go to," she asked with a huge smile on her face. He eyed to food that had taken up their whole afternoon to cook up.

"To you," he said solemnly. "To Gabriella Montez."

"No, Troy. To us." She raised a glass of wine.

"Amen." He returned the gesture and clinked glasses. She took a small sip as he took a rather large gulp. Then he immediately dug into his pasta. He downed the plate in a matter of minutes partly out of anxiety. He was going to… ask _that _question.

"Wow, you must really be hungry," she muttered. He quickly sat up and wiped his mouth.

"Yeah, I guess I am," he quietly said. He felt the box in his pocket and breathed. Okay, he would let her finish her dinner first. Oh, geez, what if she's so surprised she throws up on him? Maybe before she finished would be good… No, he would wait… but what if-

He started to sweat unnaturally. She looked up and at him, done. "Are you alright?" she asked. She brought some of the plates to the sink as he brought the rest.

"I'm fine," he said. His palms were getting clammy.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He wiped his hands on his pants. She started to wash the dishes.

"I wash, you dry?"

"Sure." He laid back on the couch and started to flip through channels until he got to HBO. Great, now he was getting the controller wet. This was not good. He wasn't supposed to be this nervous. He looked back at her and then touched the ring again.

She would say yes.

A couple of minutes later, she said, "All washed. Your turn." She took his seat on the couch and smiled.

He trudged to the wet dishes and grabbed a dry, bristly towel. He started ridding all of the plates and bowls of soap and water when he felt an emptiness in his pocket. He put the plates and towel down and felt for the box. No.

Meanwhile, Gabriella was fidgeting on the couch. Since when did their couch have an odd bump in it? She dug her hand in between the cushions and pulled out a small velvet box. Holy shit.

Troy saw her pull it out and stare at it for a second. Before she could do anything else, he ran over to the couch and hopped over it, grabbing the case. He landed rather painfully on one knee and held the box weakly in one hand. She had the strangest look on her face. Surprised didn't even begin to describe her face. She was more awed or even flabbergasted.

"Gabriella," Troy said through pursed lips. His knee stung. Oh, gosh, the things she made him do. "I-I love you."

"Ap- …eh-…ga-… yeah?" she said in a very quiet voice. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap as she sank comfortably into the couch. Her mind was racing, processing all the possible outcomes of the situation slowly but completely.

_What if he asks you to marry him?_

Of course he's going to ask you to marry him, you idiot

_What are you going to say?_

Yes?

_Are you sure?_

No?

_Woman, make up your mind!_

"I love you and… ahem… will you marry me?" he asked, his voice quivering. That was so much for romantic.

Her naturally reserved personality took over. She stared at him. Brown locked with crystal blue as she struggled for words. There was only one word that he wanted to hear though.

"Yeah," she said, not audible at all. Troy looked at her quizzically.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Yes," she said again. "Yes, Troy, I'll marry you." She smiled and he followed. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She numbly held him back, for she was too in shock to muster any other action. He buried his face into her hair, happily crying tears of joy. She felt her shirt dampen and she laughed lightly. With that, he just held her tighter.

Her power could make him fly. Her power was spectacular. Her power was his life.

* * *

**AN://** That was okay... It's nice to write something mildly happy. If that was too much of a mood swing from Part 3 to the Epilogue, let me know.

I'm sorry but I used the good ending on Part 3, okay? review?


End file.
